Joint breaker



May 19, 1925. 1,538,636 f F. J. HINDERLm-:R

4JQINT BREAKER Filed Feb. 13', 1922 YE :l

W/Mlmfu 4. if N j,

Patented May 19, 1925.

FRANK J'. HINDERLITER, `0F TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

JOINT BREAKER.

Application filed4 February 13, 1922. Serial No. 536,067,

To @ZZ whom t 71mg/ concer/n:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. I-IINDER- Li'riiia, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa and State of Gklahoina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lJoint Breakers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description 'of the saine, reference being had to the accoii'ipanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon,

This invention relates to lan apparatus designed for uncoupling pipes, rods, oi the j like, pertainingr especially to well drilling appiiances, `commonly known as joint breakers.

4In the past, these apparatus usually involved lever operated ratchet jacks which required a good deal of power. Frequently, several nien were necessary to operate the same for breaking a tight screw-threaded joint, and they were limited in their application of power.

My invention is designed to overcome `L these defects and produce an apparatus which will `produce a large amount of power with the application of little force, whereby one man can accomplish that which usually required the services of several.

tures and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims. l

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention and in which similar reference numerals refer to similar features:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus for breaking screw-threaded joints in fu? volving my invention.

Figure 2 is a view showing the development of the curved rack bar` with the jack and stop nieinber in elevation.

Figure 3 is an enlarged front elevation of 15 the jack attached to the rack bar which is shown in section.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. y

Figure iis a bottom plan view of the jack upon a reduced scale.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a support 1 for supporting a Tshaped arcuate rack 2 which may be secured to the support in any appropriate manner. A portion of the upper surface of fr.' lily invention comprises the novel struc' One portion of the arcuate rack bar has an upper smooth surface a preferably located adjacent one terminal thereof, inwhich a plurality of holes 5 are bored for adjustably supporting the joint breaking jack 6.

This jack comprises a body portion 7 having an opening in its upper portion to provide a handle and having a smooth bore extending therethrough,l a ,portion of the bore being reduced at the rear of the body portion to provide an annular shoulder 8 and the front end of the bore being provided with a key groove 9. rlhe body portion 7 is provided with a slightly curved T-shaped grooved base 10 which lits and is adapted to slide on the smooth portion t of the rack bar 2 and a pair of bolt holes 11 are provided in the basefor anchoring the jack againstlongitudinal movement yon the rack bar by means of bolts or screws insorted `through the holes 11 and 5. A removable and replaceable interiorly threaded bushing 12 haring a key or lugl 1.3 tittii'ig the groove 9 is located inthe bore and anchored against rotation by said lug 13 and abuts against the annular shoulder 8.

A j ack screw 14 is threaded into the sleeve 12. This jackiscrew is provided with an exterior boss 15 having a plurality of handle sockets 16 for receiving an operating handle or lever. Centrally of the boss, there eX- tends a stub shaft 17 having a groove 18 adjacent its outer end and concentric with the stub shaft 1T. The boss 15 is provided with a ball groove. A thrust head19 is rotatably supported upon the stub shaft 17 andis provided with a key 20 that operates in the groove 18 and rotatably retains the head on the stub shaft. The inner surface of the thrust head is provided with a ball raceway opposite the raceway in the boss 15 and a series ofanti-friction balls 21 are Supported in the raceway and takeV the thrust. Consequently, very little friction will be engendered between the stationary head and the jack screw during the operation thereof. The front face of the thrusty head 19 is bifurcated in order to securely retain a wrench handle or the likeJ which it is intended to operate.

Concentrically of the arcuate rack 2, the support 1 is provided with an aperture through which projects the jointed pipe or rod having the threaded joint that it is desired to unscrew.

In using this apparatus, a pair of long wrenches .Q2-22a such as shown in Figure 1 are secured upon opposite sides of the joint of the rod or pipe above the support 1; the handle of one wrench engaging the stop 3 and the handle of the other wrench engaging the thrust head 19. Rotation of the screw 14 in the proper direction by a lever inserted in one of the apertures 16 will advance the jack screw and wrench handle to uncouple or break the joint of the jointed rod or pipe as is obvious. It is evident that comparatively little `force is required to operate the jack screw and that it can be easily adjusted to take up lost motion and bring the thrust head into contact with the wrench handle if the same has not originally been brought snugly against the head.

l It is characteristic of my invention that the wear and tear of the jack is absorbed by a removable bushing which can be readily replaced and that a single individual can exert sufiicient power on the jack to break the tightest joint, in devices formerly used` that the T-shaped groove connection with the rack 2 produces a binding eiiect during operation, and thuswise assists in holding the jack in position.

I am aware that numerous details ot construction may be varied through a .wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and I theretore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

do it more quickly than` `scribed my name in I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, an arcuate rack having a smooth portion and a serrated portion, an adjustable stop on the serrated portion, and a screw jack on the smooth portion.

2. In an apparatus of the class described,

an arcuate rack having a smooth portion, a

screw jaclr having a T-shaped groove slidably fitting said smooth portion, and means for anchoring ksaid jack in adjusted position.

3. In an apparatus of thev class described, a support, an arcuate rack upon said support, a stop adjustable on said rack and adapted to restrain movement in one direction, and rotatable means opposed to said stop and adapted for operating a lever to ward said stop. n

1. A jacl; screw having a body portion and a base portion provided with a T-shaped groove, said body portion having a horizontal cylindrical bore and an annular shoulder therein, a removable bushing in said bore abut-ting said annular shoulder, and ajack and having a rotatable anti-frictionally mounted thrust head thereon.

5. A jack screw comprising a lbody portion, a horizontal cylindrical bore in said body portion, a screw threaded jack shaft in said bore, and a rotatable thrust head anti-rictionally supported on said jack shaft and having a blfurcated front surface adapted for receiving and operating a lever.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subthe presence ot two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK J. HINDERLITER. Witnesses S. J. MOORE,

HERMAN B. I-IENDnRsi-ro'r.

screw threaded in said bushing.l 

